ATSUKO UZUMAKI
by VortexEssence7
Summary: Omg i finally edited my story and its new and improved! :D sorta...lol you'll just have to read it for yourself and decide whether it's good or not. Naruto has a sister? WHAT! and what do the Akatsuki want with her? o.o Please R&R my beautiful reviewers!
1. Chapter 1

**Omg! I'm finally done editing mah old story :3 In case you were wondering, i removed it due to some uh...'constructive criticism' from some bitch i don't even remember her name but now i feel confident about my story now and if that same bitch is reading this, fuck you, don't review my stories please, i would like to keep your bitchiness from my life :) I'm happy with this, i don't give a fuck about what you think :) If you think my character is a mary sue, whatever, because i had so many reviews from people who LOVED her character and her personality. Feel free to review, but i won't change my story anymore just to suit your bitchy opinion.**

**Ahem...now, on with the story! Hehehe...xD  
**

"_NNNOOO!"_

Atsuko wakes with a start and bolts upright, breathing heavily. She gingerly puts a hand to her sweat-covered

forehead. That same dream again...

She hauls herself out of bed and walks to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. The coldness of the

water on her burning skin makes her shiver, she shakes it off and looks up into the mirror.

A pair of dark blue eyes with a hint of purple stare right back at her. Short, chin length red hair that spikes out a bit

in the back. Tanned skin, with a small scar running down over her left eye.

She runs a finger lightly over the scar, the memories flooding back to her. Her eyes close as she pushes them back

down.

"I need to take a walk," she whispers to herself in the mirror. She pushes away from the sink and goes back into

her room, where she slips on a coat over her pajamas. She puts her ninja shoes on, then goes to the door. She

walks down the hall and out of the building, careful not to wake anyone else.

She glances at the streets she goes on. It's almost midnight. The moon lazily hangs in the sky, adding some light to

the dark around her and creating a silhouettte of her shadow. There's no noise, everyone is inside and asleep.

Atsuko reaches the gates of the village and steps out into the forest carefully. After looking around cautiously, she

walks normally.

A cool breeze picks up, making her shiver and clutch her cloak tighter to herself. "This would be so much better if it

wasn't so cold...but at least i can get some fresh air now."

Her head tilts up to gaze at the moon. "At least i have you to keep me company."

Suddenly her body halts as she runs facefirst into a tree.

...

Two figures sit atop the trees of a forest just outside of a village, watching below them. One tiredly and grumpily

scans the area through his eye scope, the other through his orange swirl-patterned mask.

"Hey Senpai?" one asks.

"What, Tobi un?" the other replies, not moving his gaze.

"Why do we have to stay here?"

"Because you pissed leader off, so he made us stay here to watch for any ANBU un."

Tobi looks at his lap. "Oh. Hehe, sorry."

"You should be, un."

After a moment of silence, Tobi looks up again. "When are we going to–"

"OW! WHO PUTS AN EFFING TREE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST?!"

Deidara and Tobi exchange surprised glances, eyes wide.

...

Atsuko backs up, rubbing her nose and scowling at the tree that dared to cross her rightful path. "That hurt like a

bitch..."

A white blob suddenly flies down and strikes the ground in front of her, detonating as it lands. She is blown

backwards and lands on her butt, skidding in the dirt for a minute before stopping and attempting to sit up.

Deidara and Tobi come down from the trees, staring her down. She scrambles to her feet and points at them, an

irritated tick mark pulsing on her forehead.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

Deidara sweatdrops, his guard lowering as he analyzes her further. "Oh great, a loudmouth un."

"I AM NOT A–"

"She doesn't appear to be an ANBU. Or a ninja un."

Another vein pops on Atsuko's forehead. She growls indignantly. "I AM A NINJA, YOU ASS!"

Deidara glares at her challengingly. "Prove it then un. Tobi, get her."

Tobi obediently hops down from a tree and lands behind Atsuko. She screeches in surprise as she spins to face him,

arms flailing.

"HEY! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME!" she snaps.

Tobi stares at her for a bit, head tilted in curiosity. Then he looks at Deidara unsurely. "Senpai, i don't think we need

to fight her."

Deidara growls and stands straight. "Why not un?"

"She's not really a should we do, senpai? We don't need to kill her."

"Don't be so merciful! Just finish her un!"

Tobi shrugs, then reaches out to grab Atsuko. She yelps and springs herself backwards, holding her hand out in

front of her in attempt to hold him back. Orange chains of Chakra shoot out from her palm and surround Tobi. They

quickly wrap around him and slam him to the ground. Deidara's jaw drops.

_Chains of Chakra?!_

Atsuko lands on her feet, eyes wide at her hand. _This...again? Where does this power come from?_ She returns to

reality and decides to try and use this unknown power and glances over at Deidara to make sure he hasn't moved.

As soon as she lockes eyes with him, he leaps towards her. She yanks her hand back from Tobi and redirects her

palm towards the blonde, and they shoot out at Deidara as quickly as a snake. They coil around his chest, and he

freezes to avoid being crushed.

Deidara grimaces as he stays still under Atsuko's strong chakra. _What is this? These are strong enough to hold down a _

_Tailed beast!_

Tobi suddenly appears behind Atsuko, and he hits her swiftly on the neck. Her breath catches in her throat, her eyes

wide. Then she collapses to the ground as her chains recede back into her body.

Deidara stands straight once more and relaxes. He takes a deep breath and walks over to Atsuko. The two Akatsuki

members just look down at her for a bit.

She was small, about 5'3, and looked 15 or 16. There was something about her hair and her face that Deidara

found familiar, though he couldn't put a finger on it. Deidara bends down and puts his arm under her unconscious

form. He picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder, standing.

"What are you doing, senpai?" Tobi questions.

"We're going to take her back to the base, un," Deidara replies. "Leader will want to see this."

...

"NO I DON'T WANT ANY DAMN COOKIES, TOBI UN!"

"Shut it, you two! You're going to wake her!"

On cue, Atsuko groans and stirs on the table, flinching. The Akatsuki all freeze and stare at her, tensing as if they

just woke a large vicious monster. She rolls over on the table, then falls to the floor with a thump.

"HEY, WHO PUT THIS FLOOR HERE?"

She unsteadily gets to her feet, wavering back and forth a bit before regaining her balance. She blinks a few times

to clear her fuzzy vision, then glances at all the people. Her eyes land on Tobi, and her eyes narrow.

Konan gasps, foreseeing the movement. "Somebody get her, she's going to–"

Atsuko vanishes and tackles Tobi to the ground, creating a dent in the concrete floor. Everyone stands waiting in

silence, wincing as the impact shook the floor. When the smoke clears, Atsuko stands up and turns to everyone. In

her hands is the plate of cookies, and she is stuffing a couple in her mouth contently. She turns and walks back to

the table. She hops back onto it and sets the plate in her lap, gazing intently at everyone as she chews slowly and

carefully.

Tobi grunts and sits up from the crater in the floor, holding his head.

Atsuko chews her cookie as she glances at the members and inspects them all one by one. One pretty woman had

blue hair with a white paper flower in it, and a lip piercing. Two were the ones she had met already in the forest,

Tobi and the blonde.

"You did that just to get the cookies un?" Deidara asks, awestruck with his eyes wide in confusion.

She nods delightfully, smiling with her cheeks full, much like a chipmunk. "Mm hmm!"

Konan smacks her forehead, groaning. She feels a headache coming on. "Please tell me again WHY you brought her

here?"

Deidara turns to her to explain. "She has Chakra in the form of chains that are at least strong enough to hold a

Tailed Beast. I figured that Leader would want to use that power, un."

A cookie smacks Deidara in the side of the head. He growls and turns to Atsuko, glaring.

"First of all, it's MY power! And I'll decide how to use it, not you!" she announces.

He irritably smirks, a tick mark appearing. "I didn't know you could speak without yelling at the top of your lungs

un."

"OH, IS THIS BETTER? WOULD YOU RATHER I SHOUT THEN?"

"No, be quiet! You're going to make Leader mad, un!"

Konan sighs at the two and walks closer to Atsuko cautiously. "Girl, what is your name?"

"Nunya."

"Nunya?"

"NUN YA BUSINESS! HA HA HA!"

Deidara and Konan shake their heads simultaneously while Atsuko laughs her head off, spilling some cookie crumbs

in her wake.

The door opens, and a cold chill flows into the room. Light seems to darken. A figure walks in, and the door silently

closes. Two Rinnegan eyes open and fix on Konan. "What is it you wanted me to see, Konan?"

Atsuko stops laughing and blinks a couple times, noticing the menacing figure in the room.

"This girl has extraordinary Chakra, Pain-sama," Konan explains, holding her hand out to Atsuko. Pain's gaze shifts

to the girl on the table, still munching on cookies. His eyes narrow wearily.

"How extraordinary?"

"Apparently it is strong enough to restrain a Tailed Beast, but i do not know for sure."

Pain quickly dashes towards Atsuko in a flash. Before he reaches her, she stops chewing and freezes.

_**BAM!**_

It seems to shake the whole base. Everyone holds their breath until the dust fades from around the two figures.

When it does, jaws drop and eyes widen.

Atsuko is sitting perfectly calm on the table, not moved an inch. Pain is a foot away from her, still in his running

position. But orange glowing chains have sprouted from Atsuko's body and coiled around Pain's body, stopping him

short. He strains to push past them, but they don't budge.

Atsuko drops the cookie in her hand, staring at the chains around her in surprise. _What exactly are these?_

Pain eventually stops struggling and relaxes, fixing his eyes on her. _It seems she does not yet know how to control _

_her power. Interesting._ The chains slowly recede. Pain stands straight once more. He stares at her for a bit,

pondering.

Atsuko suddenly gasps in realization at Pain and almost drops the plate on her lap, then points at everyone.

"YOU'RE THE AKATSUKI!"

They all sweatdrop, including Pain. Deidara's eye twitches. "No, really un?"

She gets on top of the table and stands. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"

"We want you to join Akatsuki, loudmouth," Pain snaps angrily, glaring at the oblivious girl.

Atsuko looks down at him in surprise, as do the others.

Konan takes a step forward. "What? She's just a child!"

Deidara follows her. "We really don't need someone like her, un."

Pain glares at them both, power radiating from him and making them both flinch. "I'll decide that. We can always

have more members, and she has a power that we need. It is final."

"Hey! What if i don't want to join?" Atsuko breaks in, hopping down to the floor and setting the cookies back on the

table.

Pain turns to her, no emotion on his face. "Then you will have a life of pain and suffering."

She locks her jaw and narrows her eyes. "You don't scare me, teme."

Everyone's blood freezes. Konan stammers and tries to step between Atsuko and Pain's glare. "Now now..."

**"Shinra Tensei."**

Atsuko is propelled backwards and slams into the concrete wall behind her. Pain walks towards her calmly.

She grunts and stand up painfully, flinching. A hand grabs her throat and pushes her farther into the dent. She

squeaks and tries to pry the hand off. When Pain's grip tightens, orange chains shoot out and wrap around him. He

ignores them, instead squeezes even more.

Atsuko begins to see spots in her vision as her oxygen flow is cut off. Her Chakra Chains weaken and stop trying to

push him away.

"Out," Konan commands, shoving Deidara to the door. He yelps in protest at the woman, then the door shuts in his

face.

As Pain continues choking Atsuko, Tobi steps forward.

"You don't want to do that, Pain. She has a valuable ability."

His voice deepens, suddenly darker and more demanding. "Release her now."

Pain hesitantly loosens his grip on Atsuko, murder still intently in his eyes. "Tch..."

He pulls his hand back quickly, letting her drop to the floor. She gasps and puts a hand to her chest, trying to regain

her breathing. Her chakra chains fade back into her body.

Konan rushes to her and helps her to her feet. Pain glares at Tobi, then goes towards the door.

"I'll make sure she joins," Tobi murmurs to him as he passes. Pain only grunts in response.

When the door closes once more, Tobi looks at Atsuko, now standing straight.

"That was scary!" he chuckles in his other high pitched voice.

She coughs and looks up, glaring at the door. "That jerkwad..."

"You really should join, though. We can train you to get a lot stronger and control your power!"

She stands straighter in interest, eyeing him. "Training, you say?"

"Oh yeah! Lots!"

Atsuko gazes at the floor for a moment, then gently pushes away from Konan. Her head snaps up and

determination flares in her eyes. She smiles. "Okay, I'll join Akatsuki."

...

**So...hehehe...*awkwardly smiles* Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Did the swearing bother you?...I just wanted to put it in there...if you review, i'll make Atsuko hug you!**


	2. Joyful interactions

**Why hello my silent readers! I'm not mad at you for not reviewing, i'm a silent reader sometimes myself. But obviously you like this story because you come back to read more, so...here's another chapter! I hope you like it :3**

"AAHH! PSYCHO ALBINO CREEP!"

Atsuko clings to Konan, hiding behind the woman from the silver-haired man with the scythe.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU? I'M NOT AN ALBINO!" Hidan yells back, a pulse on his forehead.

"She's right about the creep part, though," Konan mutters, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Atsuko returns, bravely standing in front of Konan again.

"YOU STARTED IT!" Hidan replies, now towering over her menacingly.

"I CAN DO IT BETTER THAN YOU! I'VE NEVER LOST MY VOICE ONCE AND I SHOUT ALL THE TIME!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE LOUDMOUTHS THAT CAN DO IT NONSTOP!"

"I AM NOT A–"

Something suddenly tackles Atsuko in the midsection, sending her across the floor. When she looks up, someone is

on top of her, pinning her down by her arms.

"Will you SHUT UP?" Deidara snarls, in her face. His blue eye is ablaze with irritation. "I can hear you all the way on

the other side of the base, un!"

Atsuko pauses, then takes a deep breath. "I WILL NOT BE SILENCED! MUA HA HA!"

She continues to laugh loudly. Deidara gives her a look, then covers her mouth with his hand. She immediately gets

a chill, then starts screeching into his hand. She flails around frantically, having a complete spazz attack. IT'S

LICKING MY MOUTH! GET IT OFF!

"Just hold still and calm down!" he growls, struggling to hold her down.

At that moment, Pain walks into the room. He stops at the entrance to the livingroom, staring at the two on the

floor. He turns to Konan. "Dare i ask?"

She shakes her head, hand on her forehead.

A loud crash makes them both look up. Atsuko is laying on the floor, eyes wide still and mouth open. But Deidara is

nowhere to be seen.

"Where's...?" Konan asks. Atsuko turns her surprised stare on the woman, then looks upward and points up.

Everyone looks up, and there is a gaping hole in the ceiling. They gape at Atsuko with wide eyes.

"What did you DO?" Konan demands.

"I...I kicked him off..." Atsuko slowly replies softly. A groan comes from the hole, then it starts falling apart some

more. Atsuko screeches and scrambles out of the way as debris comes raining down onto the carpeted floor. The

smoke slowly clears, and Deidara is lying atop the rubble. His eyes are closed.

Atsuko gets to her feet and points down at him, laughing triumphantly. "HA! TAKE THAT YOU FUDGEBAG! NO ONE

MESSES WITH ME!"

"I'm still awake, idiot, un," Deidara hisses, opening his eye halfway at her. Atsuko shrieks and bolts down the

hallway. Pain and Konan watch as Deidara painfully heaves himself up.

"Great job Deidara, you brought another PSYCHO into Akatsuki!" Konan snaps at the blonde.

Hidan replies to her from the kitchen. "We're all psychos, so it's not that big of a deal."

"Not all of us are as crazed as you, Hidan un," Deidara growls, dusting himself off.

"Says you, the 'Artistic Terrorist' with a speech impediment."

"Hey! Don't insult me! I'll blast your sorry butt across the country, un!"

"Just try it, blondie!"

Among the two screaming threats, Pain turns to Konan. "You calm them down. I'm going to find the girl."

Konan nods, and Pain walks to the hallway. He passes a few doors, glancing at them all to sense any Chakra

signatures.

Konan turns to the two bickering and sweatdrops with a sigh. "Come on, guys..."

They ignore her and get in each others faces, yelling loudly. Konan looks down sadly at her inability to stop them.

She was always being pushed around and couldn't stick up for herself.

"Hey," Atsuko says, suddenly standing next to Konan. Konan jumps and looks at her, surprised.

"Pain-sama was looking for you," she stammers. "How did you-"

Atsuko grins. "Oh, i know. I'm hiding from him."

A loud crash interrupts them. When they turn, Hidan has completely turned over the couch. He is threatening to kick

Deidara's butt so hard that he won't be able to sit for a year.

"Hey, calm down," Konan tries, nervously stepping closer. When the arguing only increases, she backs away,

defeated.

Atsuko narrows her eyes at Konan, understanding the problem. She looks to the boys and walks to them with

determination. First she shoves Deidara to the floor, then Hidan. They both glare up at her, enraged.

"WHAT THE HECK?" Hidan rages.

"DON'T DO THAT, UN!" Deidara adds.

Atsuko places her hands on her hips and leans in. "Konan has been trying to tell you to shut up and you're ignoring

her like jerks! LISTEN TO THE WOMAN!"

They glance at each other, then chuckle and smirk.

As Atsuko continues to yell at them, Konan watches her. She's defending me...maybe she isn't how i thought she

was...

"...I'M PRETTY SURE THAT KONAN DOESN NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH YOU GUYS RIGHT NOW WHEN SHE HAS TO DEAL

WITH YOU ALL THE TIME!" Atsuko yells.

"You can't really tell us to shut up, squirt," Hidan laughs.

"Yeah, un," Deidara agrees.

Atsuko's eyes narrow, then orange chains shoot from her sides and pin the two to the ground. As they yelp and

squirm, she grins. "I guess i'll just have to tell Pain that you didn't listen to him about letting me join."

Deidara's eye widens, and Hidan scoffs. "You wouldn't."

Atsuko opens her mouth and takes a deep breath.

Deidara shuts his eye, flinching as he replies to Hidan. "She would, un."

"PAAAAAIN-SAMAAAAAAA!" her voice rings through the base, rattling the walls and making everyone's ears ring

painfully. Everything slowly calms down after a moment.

Pain walks out of the hall, rubbling his temples. "What is it?"

Atsuko pouts, much like a child, and points at Deidara and Hidan. "They weren't listening to Konan!"

Pain stares at her, then Konan. "Is this true?"

Konan nods sadly. Pain fixes his glare on the two, his eyes keeping them pinned to the floor. They jump and flinch.

"Konan has the same position that i do. Whenever i'm gone, she is in charge. Do you understand?"

They nod quickly, ashamed and frightened. Atsuko smiles in triumph, arms folded over her chest. Pain sighs.

Hidan glares at Atsuko, and she sticks her tongue out at him. They stand, stretch, then go down the hall.

"Would you mind telling me a little bit of information about yourself?" Pain asks, turning to Atsuko.

She nods. "Whatcha wanna know?"

"Your name and where you came from."

Atsuko smirks at him. "I'll tell you my name at dinner, no sooner."

Pain blinks, confused. "Why dinner?"

She snickers. So i can see all your faces when i blow your minds. but instead of saying that, Atsuko only shrugs. "It

seems more...business-like."

Pain slowly nods, still unsure of her answer, and her sanity. "Okay."

"But i will tell you that i came from the Village of Whirlpools."

Pain's eyes widened slightly as something flashes in them. "Ah. The village of the sealing tecniques?"

"Yep. Surprised?"

His face goes back to its neutral expression. Atsuko laughs at him attemtping to hide it.

"Is this really the right place for her, Pain-sama?"

"Konan, we need the power she has."

"I know, but she's still young. She has her whole life ahead of her, and if she becomes like us..."

Pain's gaze fixes on her, understanding Konan's concern for the girl. "I think that the girl will be able to handle

herself. She was able to restrain me, remember?"

Konan looks down. "Yes, but..."

Pain locks his jaw for a moment, then sighs. "Why don't you watch over her for a while, just until you're sure?"

Konan's eyes brighten as she looks back up, smiling. "O-okay!"

Seeing her hopeful, the corners of his mouth slowly curve upward in a half smile. "I want you to go to her village

and go through her house, try to find out some information about her."

Konan nods. "All right!" After a second, she vanishes using the Body Flicker Tecnique.

Konan walks cautiously into the Village of Whirlpools, glancing around. The sun is setting, lighting the sky with

oranges and pink. She goes through the streets until she stops at a house with no lights on. She steps onto the

porch, trying the doorknob. The door easily slides open. Konan sweatdrops. She doesn't even have enough sense

to lock the door to her own house...

The house is completely dark as she goes inside and closes the door behind her.

"I DON'T WANT BEANS, I WANT POTATOES!"

"WELL TOO FLIPPIN BAD, CUZ I'M MAKING BEANS, UN!"

Atsuko starts growling, and Deidara gives makes a funny face at her, cross-eyed. When Atsuko only pouts at him, he

tears his gaze back to the stove, where steak is simmering on a pan. As he flips it over and checks its redness,

Atsuko slams her hand on the counter.

"I'm the guest here! It's the host's duty to please the guest!" she argues.

Deidara scoffs without looking up from cooking. "I'm not the host here. And you're the type of 'guest' that i would

throw out if i had the choice, un."

Her eyes narrow into a glare. "I dare you, blondie."

"Calling me by my hair color isn't really an insult, just so you know, un."

Atsuko groans loudly and storms out of the kitchen, where her groan turns into an angry indignant half-shriek.

Deidara chuckles as he flips the meat. She's actually kinda cute sometimes...

A stack of papers flutter to the floor as Konan drops them. She turns back to the desk and opens drawers, trying to

find SOMETHING about the girl. She quickly skims through another pile of paper, throwing each to the floor in slight

impatience.

Her hand stops on one, and she lets all the others fall. She holds the piece with both hands, reading.

She suddenly gasps, putting a hand to her mouth. She...she is...

She stuffs the paper into her cloak and focuses her Chakra so she can teleport. I have to tell Pain!

"It's more like...an ant hill."

"No, it's a zit."

"IT'S A VOLCANO, CAN'T YOU PEOPLE SEE AT ALL?!"

Hidan and Kisame glare at Atsuko. She rolls her eyes and points at the mashed potato sculpture. "A mountain with

lava flowing out of it. Right there."

The two lean in closer, trying to understand. Deidara stands next to Atsuko, hands on his hips as he nods in

appreciation of her. "See, SHE can understand my art, un."

The fantastic dinner has been set up on the large dining room table. Steak, corn, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy

are all nicely put in the middle. Plates and silverware are on the edges of the table, bright and clean. Atsuko had

managed to convince Deidara to make mashed potatoes by agreeing to be his art assistant for a week. It would be

long, but she really wanted potatoes.

"Can we eat now?" someone asks from behind Atsuko. When she turns, she pales and freezes in her skin.

A man...thing...that was half black and half white, with a venus flytrap around the upper half of his body was

looming over her.

"So is this the one we get to eat?" he asks, looking her up and down.

Deidara flinches and covers his ears, waiting for the scream. Oh, no.

But the only sound is a small thump as Atsuko collapses to the floor, unconscious. Deidara opens his eyes and puts

his hands down, staring at her. Then he turns to the carnivorous man.

"Nice going, Zetsu, yeah."

Pain walks into the livingroom, glancing at everyone. His gaze stops on Atsuko, who lies on the couch. The upper

half of her is on Deidara's lap, and he is trying to get her to wake up by gently slapping her cheek and telling her to

get up.

"What did you do?" Pain asks, exhausted with the whole day.

Deidara looks up, blinking for a moment. "She saw Zetsu...yeah..."

Pain closes his eyes, knowing that's all the explaination he needed. "Ah..."

Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, and the other members come into the room slowly. Hidan is arguing with Kakuzu, like always.

Kisame is talking quietly to Itachi, while Sasori is silent. He stops at the hallway while everyone else goes to the

dinner table.

Deidara feels Sasori's gaze and looks up from shaking Atsuko. "What, Danna, un?"

Sasori is staring at the girl on his lap. "Causing trouble again, brat?"

"Hey, i didn't do it this time, un."

"Yeah, THIS time."

"FRENCH TOAST AND BAGELS!" Atsuko suddenly shouts, waking and involuntarily punching Deidara in the jaw.

Deidara grunts in pain and starts growling, while Atsuko sits up and blinks in confusion. She then stares down at

her hands, trying to remember what happened.. "Okay, i was in the kitchen...then i saw that weird guy, then-I'M ON

YOUR LAP!"

With that last realization, she scrambles off and gets up unsteadily. Deidara stands as well and rubs his chin. "Yeah,

nice to see you too, un."

Atsuko only blinks, and he rolls his eyes before going to the table. Atsuko stands straight, suddenly noticing that it

was time to eat. She looks around, and spots Sasori still standing there.

She smiles and waves at him. "Hi!"

He gives her the look that she gets all the time, the look that says people think you're psycho. Then he sweatdrops

at her excitement. "...hello."

Her expression suddenly turns to admiration. "Wow, look at your eyes. They're so bright and pretty."

He freezes, unsure of what to reply. "Uh...thanks?"

She regains her smile. "You're welcome!" When she smells the food, she turns and runs to the table at lightning

speed. She stops in front of the round booth, seeing no room to sit.

Atsuko folds her arms. "All right, SOMEONE better move over."

When they all ignore her, she stomps over to the one sitting on the end. Not caring who it was, she grabs his arm

and yanks him out of the seat. He yelps and hits the floor, then rubs his head. Atsuko huffs and sits down

triumphantly.

"Why would Pretty-chan do that to Tobi?" he whines as he gets up.

Atsuko looks at him funny, head tilted to the side. "Pretty-chan?"

"All right, if i can have your attention," Pain interrupts the talking from the other side of the table. "We have a new

member in our organization. I expect you all to be respectful and kind to her." He motions to Atsuko, who has a

spoon stuck to her nose. She realizes that the leader is adressing her, and she blinks a couple times. "What now?"

The members laugh or chuckle, and she looks around at them with confusion. "What? What?"

Deidara, who is sitting next to her, breaks from his fit of laughter to take the spoon off her face. "Here, let me get

that, un."

As he sets the spoon down, Atsuko glances at it in realization, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. "Oh...that's

why..."

"Calm down, everyone," Pain continues, sending out glares. They eventually quiet down, and he looks at Atsuko

once more. "Will you tell us your name now?"

She smirks widely, eyes gleaming. "With pleasure." She pushes her chair out, then gets up and stands on top of it.

Konan finally rushes to Pain's side, panting. She leans on his chair. "Pain-sama..."

"Not now, Konan."

Atsuko puts her hand out, fingers in the peace sign.

"But Pain-sama, she-"

"MY NAME IS ATSUKO UZUMAKI!"

Silence. The air felt suffocating, and Atsuko kept glancing from face to face, searching for any reaction at all.

Suddenly the Akatsuki burst into laughter, making Atsuko glare at them.

"You're too funny!" someone chuckled between fits of laughter.

"Uzumaki? Yeah right!" Hidan scoffed, clutching his midsection as he doubled over.

Atsuko clenched her fists. "It's true! Stop laughing!"

Pain shook his head at her. "Don't play games, girl. What is your real name?"

She leaned towards him, eyes aglow as she heavily pronounced each word. "Atsuko. Uzumaki."

As Pain was about to tell her to knock it off, Konan tapped his shoulder and got his attention. She whispered in his

ear. "She's telling the truth."

Pain gave Konan a look. "Do you honestly believe her? It's not possible, Konan."

"I have proof." The bluenette took some papers from her pocket and handed them to Pain, who quickly took them

and read them over, still not believing anything.

His eyes changed from disbelief to pure shock, and Konan then took the papers from him as he finished reading

them.

The leader looked up as the laugher subsided. "She...she really is an Uzumaki. That's her birth certificate."

Once more the room is swallowed into heavy silence, and Atsuko stands straight again in triumph, grinning.

Three...two...one.

"WHAT?"

"YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS!"

"UZUMAKI?!"

Pain suddenly fell backwards out of his chair, and Konan crouched down to help him up. Hidan's face smacks onto his

plate, and Atsuko nudges him with her foot to check if he was unconscious. He was. Atsuko slowly slides back down

in her seat, and notices Deidara staring at her with his mouth open. She pokes him in the forehead, and he doesn't

budge or react.

"Pretty-chan is related to Naruto?" Tobi asks, clear surprise in his voice. However underneath he felt the need to

snatch the papers from Konan and see the truth for himself. That could wait.

Atsuko looks up at him from poking Deidara. "What? Oh, yeah. Naruto-nii. My big brother."

Pain finally gets to his feet and slams his hand on the table, from both anger and lighteheadedness. "And how did

this happen?"

Atsuko looks around in thought. "Well, I just came out after Naruto. Simple."

"No, i mean-"

"HOW?!" Deidara randomely interrupts, throwing his arms in the air, recovering finally from his shock. Atsuko whacks

his forehead with her finger, making him lean back. "I don't really know HOW, guys."

"No one knows if this is true or not," Itachi suddenly breaks in, making all eyes lock on him. His Sharingan flash at

Atsuko, and her eyes go wide for a moment. Then suddenly she collapses backwards, making Deidara catch her. He

tries to pull her up, glaring at Itachi. Atsuko;s head lays on his shoulder. "What did you do that for, Uchiha?"

Itachi calmly looks to the leader. "We don't know if the documents are real or not."

Pain's Rinnegan eyes narrow. "Then what should we do?"

"I suggest we run some DNA tests on her, and test the papers. We need real evidence on this."

Pain looks down in thought, then at Atsuko. "All right, someone put her in the lab."


	3. Atsuko ALWAYS gets her way

**OMG new chapter! Sorry it's not as long as the past one, I'll add an extra long chapter if i get a couple more reviews from my kind readers :3 I like hearing your feedback :3**

Pain walks into the livingroom, glancing at everyone. His gaze stops on Atsuko, who lies on the couch. The upper

half of her is on Deidara's lap, and he is trying to get her to wake up by gently slapping her cheek and telling her to

get up.

"What did you do?" Pain asks, exhausted with the whole day.

Deidara looks up, blinking for a moment. "She saw Zetsu...yeah..."

Pain closes his eyes, knowing that's all the explaination he needed. "Ah..."

Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, and the other members come into the room slowly. Hidan is arguing with Kakuzu, like always.

Kisame is talking quietly to Itachi, while Sasori is silent. He stops at the hallway while everyone else goes to the

dinner table.

Deidara feels Sasori's gaze and looks up from shaking Atsuko. "What, Danna, un?"

Sasori is staring at the girl on his lap. "Causing trouble again, brat?"

"Hey, i didn't do it this time, un."

"Yeah, THIS time."

"FRENCH TOAST AND BAGELS!" Atsuko suddenly shouts, waking and involuntarily punching Deidara in the jaw.

Deidara grunts in pain and starts growling, while Atsuko sits up and blinks in confusion. She then stares down at

her hands, trying to remember what happened.. "Okay, i was in the kitchen...then i saw that weird guy, then-I'M ON

YOUR LAP!"

With that last realization, she scrambles off and gets up unsteadily. Deidara stands as well and rubs his chin. "Yeah,

nice to see you too, un."

Atsuko only blinks, and he rolls his eyes before going to the table. Atsuko stands straight, suddenly noticing that it

was time to eat. She looks around, and spots Sasori still standing there.

She smiles and waves at him. "Hi!"

He gives her the look that she gets all the time, the look that says people think you're psycho. Then he sweatdrops

at her excitement. "...hello."

Her expression suddenly turns to admiration. "Wow, look at your eyes. They're so bright and pretty."

He freezes, unsure of what to reply. "Uh...thanks?"

She regains her smile. "You're welcome!" When she smells the food, she turns and runs to the table at lightning

speed. She stops in front of the round booth, seeing no room to sit.

Atsuko folds her arms. "All right, SOMEONE better move over."

When they all ignore her, she stomps over to the one sitting on the end. Not caring who it was, she grabs his arm

and yanks him out of the seat. He yelps and hits the floor, then rubs his head. Atsuko huffs and sits down

triumphantly.

"Why would Pretty-chan do that to Tobi?" he whines as he gets up.

Atsuko looks at him funny, head tilted to the side. "Pretty-chan?"

"All right, if i can have your attention," Pain interrupts the talking from the other side of the table. "We have a new

member in our organization. I expect you all to be respectful and kind to her." He motions to Atsuko, who has a

spoon stuck to her nose. She realizes that the leader is adressing her, and she blinks a couple times. "What now?"

The members laugh or chuckle, and she looks around at them with confusion. "What? What?"

Deidara, who is sitting next to her, breaks from his fit of laughter to take the spoon off her face. "Here, let me get

that, un."

As he sets the spoon down, Atsuko glances at it in realization, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. "Oh...that's

why..."

"Calm down, everyone," Pain continues, sending out glares. They eventually quiet down, and he looks at Atsuko

once more. "Will you tell us your name now?"

She smirks widely, eyes gleaming. "With pleasure." She pushes her chair out, then gets up and stands on top of it.

Konan finally rushes to Pain's side, panting. She leans on his chair. "Pain-sama..."

"Not now, Konan."

Atsuko puts her hand out, fingers in the peace sign.

"But Pain-sama, she-"

"MY NAME IS ATSUKO UZUMAKI!"

Silence. The air felt suffocating, and Atsuko kept glancing from face to face, searching for any reaction at all.

Suddenly the Akatsuki burst into laughter, making Atsuko glare at them.

"You're too funny!" someone chuckled between fits of laughter.

"Uzumaki? Yeah right!" Hidan scoffed, clutching his midsection as he doubled over.

Atsuko clenched her fists. "It's true! Stop laughing!"

Pain shook his head at her. "Don't play games, girl. What is your real name?"

She leaned towards him, eyes aglow as she heavily pronounced each word. "_Atsuko. Uzumaki._"

As Pain was about to tell her to knock it off, Konan tapped his shoulder and got his attention. She whispered in his

ear. "She's telling the truth."

Pain gave Konan a look. "Do you honestly believe her? It's not possible, Konan."

"I have proof." The bluenette took some papers from her pocket and handed them to Pain, who quickly took them

and read them over, still not believing anything.

His eyes changed from disbelief to pure shock, and Konan then took the papers from him as he finished reading

them.

The leader looked up as the laugher subsided. "She...she really is an Uzumaki. That's her birth certificate."

Once more the room is swallowed into heavy silence, and Atsuko stands straight again in triumph, grinning.

_Three...two...one._

"WHAT?"

"YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS!"

"UZUMAKI?!"

Pain suddenly fell backwards out of his chair, and Konan crouched down to help him up. Hidan's face smacks onto his

plate, and Atsuko nudges him with her foot to check if he was unconscious. He was. Atsuko slowly slides back down

in her seat, and notices Deidara staring at her with his mouth open. She pokes him in the forehead, and he doesn't

budge or react.

"Pretty-chan is related to Naruto?" Tobi asks, clear surprise in his voice. However underneath he felt the need to

snatch the papers from Konan and see the truth for himself. That could wait.

Atsuko looks up at him from poking Deidara. "What? Oh, yeah. Naruto-nii. My big brother."

Pain finally gets to his feet and slams his hand on the table, from both anger and lighteheadedness. "And how did

this happen?"

Atsuko looks around in thought. "Well, I just came out after Naruto. Simple."

"No, i mean-"

"HOW?!" Deidara randomely interrupts, throwing his arms in the air, recovering finally from his shock. Atsuko whacks

his forehead with her finger, making him lean back. "I don't really know HOW, guys."

"No one knows if this is true or not," Itachi suddenly breaks in, making all eyes lock on him. His Sharingan flash at

Atsuko, and her eyes go wide for a moment. Then suddenly she collapses backwards, making Deidara catch her. He

tries to pull her up, glaring at Itachi. Atsuko;s head lays on his shoulder. "What did you do that for, Uchiha?"

Itachi calmly looks to the leader. "We don't know if the documents are real or not."

Pain's Rinnegan eyes narrow. "Then what should we do?"

"I suggest we run some DNA tests on her, and test the papers. We need real evidence on this."

Pain looks down in thought, then at Atsuko. "All right, someone put her in the lab."

"...no, Deidara, don't touch me..."

Deidara sweatdrops and turns around to the girl mumbling in her sleep. she clutches the pillow next to her head,

drooling a bit.

"If you tickle me...I'll bite you..." she mutters, shifting a bit.

Deidara chuckles quietly and faces the monitors once more. The tests should be coming out any moment now. He

sighs and leans back against Atsuko's table, looking over his shoulder at her. Her hair was going into her face a bit,

and the right side of her face was being squished into the pillow, making her face a bit chubby.

He smirks. _She looks so cute..._

A loud beep interrupts his thoughts, and he leans forward to grab the long strip of paper. He sets himself back

against the table as he skims over the results.

After a moment, he glances back at Atsuko. He reaches over to put his hand on her head. "Well, looks like you

weren't lying. You really are Naruto's sister, un."

She fidgets a bit, trying to swat the hand off even in her unconscious state. Deidara smiles and stands, then walks

towards the door to report to Pain.

A pained whimper comes from behind him, and he stops. When he turns, Atsuko's hands are in fists and she's

tossing around. The heart monitor is beeping rapidly, and her face is covered in sweat.

Deidara doesn't know whether to stay or go to Pain. He doesn't know what to do in this situation, but if he leaves

her he might regret it.

He walks back to the table, and Atsuko moves so fast that the wires are disconnected from her body. Deidara

quickly pushes the machines away, then tries to hold Atsuko down. She stops, but her body doesn't stop twitching

around uneasily.

"N-Naruto...no...don't hurt him..." she protests, shaking her head.

"Atsuko," Deidara says, trying to get her to wake up. "Can you hear me? Atsuko!"

"You can't have control! No!"

Atsuko's body becomes enveloped in a layer of orange chakra, and her chains start to take form. Deidara pulls back

one hand to do a hand sign, the other still firmly on her arm. He slowly absorbs her chakra, and her fits seem to

calm a bit. But as soon as her Chakra was gone, she fought even more.

"Don't hurt him. Leave...me...ALONE!" Atsuko sits bolt upright, her eyes shooting open. She continues to

hyperventilate for a few moments, though the moments seem like hours. Deidara slowly puts her hands down to

her sides, then lets go. She only stares straight ahead, not focusing. She is still panting hard.

Deidara puts his arm around her shoulder and nudges her closer. "Atsuko? Are you alright, yeah?"

She doesn't move her gaze. After a moment, she buries her face in her hands and sounds like she's trying to steady

her breathing. Deidara frowns at her small form, shuddering and trembling against him. She felt so weak and fragile

in his arms.

Deidara frowns even more. _Is she hiding something?_

"I'm fine, thanks," Atsuko suddenly replies to his question. Her hands are gone from her face. Deidara blinks at her

and lets go of her shoulder. She looks at him with a small smile, gratefulness masking the pain in her eyes.

"You're welcome, yeah," he slowly says. She smiles bigger, only making Deidara more unsure.

"Atsuko, hm," Deidara says firmly, staring directly into her deep eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you...okay, yeah?"

She jumps down from the table and stands. "Sure, why wouldn't i be?" She looks past him at all the machines. She

groans and smacks her forehead. "Aww, Itachi knocked me out! Didn't he!"

Deidara nods. "We also ran some tests, to find out the truth. You really are an Uzumaki, un."

She laughs. "Of course i am! I wouldn't lie about that!"

Deidara gazes at her sadly. _She's pretending like nothing happened..._

The door swings open. "Atsuko-chan!"

Atsuko throws her arms into the air with a wide smile. "TOBI-KUN!"

They run to each other and squish hug until Atsuko begs for breath. When he lets her down, she orders him to turn

around. He does, and she jumps onto his back. Tobi flails around until he regains his blanace. Them he marches out

the door, with Atsuko yelling for food at the top of her lungs.

Deidara sighs deeply and looks down at the results. That girl was a mystery to everyone around her.

"Konaaaaan, don't you love meeeee?" Atsuko whines, draping herself across the table towards the blue haired

woman.

"Atsuko, stop whining," Konan scolds, trying to read a book as she leans back in her chair.

"But why can't we?"

"Why can't we what?" Kisame asks, looming over Atsuko from behind. She screeches in surprise and rolls onto the

floor. Kisame laughs and grabs her hand to pull her back up. She pops back up and leans in towards Konan from

across the table, trying to stare her down intensely.

Konan glances up, then sighs and closes the book. "The Akatsuki don't go shopping, Atsuko."

Atsuko throws her arms into the air. "Then what DO you do all day? Come on, i just wanna have some fun!"

"What kind of fun?" Hidan asks, suddenly standing next to Atsuko. She shrieks in surprise, and once again falls onto

her butt. She gets up and switches between giving Hidan and Kisame glares. "Stop doing that!"

Hidan chuckles and drapes his arm over her shoulders, grinning. "Can't help it, dear. Ninjas."

She gives him a look as she shoves his arm off. She returns her attention to the blue-haired woman, who is

examining her dark nail polish.

"I know that there's a fun girl inside you just DYING to break out," Atsuko growls. "And i'm going to help her!"

Konan snorts.

"Just go with me ONCE. One time, that's all. And i'll stop asking."

Konan sighs and looks up at her. "I know how you feel, but i just can't. I have my duties here, and that doesn't

include going out and having fun with other girls. I'm not going to be the wild party girl like you."

Atsuko's eyes narrow. "I wish you would. Maybe Pain would appreciate you more."

Everyone goes quiet. Konan is frozen, except for her eye twitching. Atsuko grins, knowing she won.

"Do you WANT to die?" Kisame asks, wide eyed.

Hidan is laughing. Atsuko and Konan stare at each other for a while, then Konan stands up and slams her hands on

the table so she is in the same position as Atsuko, making Kisame and Hidan jump in surprise and slight fear.

"I really would LIKE to. But I CAN'T." With that, she spins and storms off with clenched fists, grumbling to herself

about crazy Uzumakis.

Atsuko stands straight and yells after her. "There's no such thing as can't!"

She faintly hears Konan growl before she slams a door in the hallway. She folds her arms, contemplating.

"Heh, i'll go shopping with you," Hidan offers, stepping closer to Atsuko with a Cheshire cat smile.

She laughs and pushes him back. "Ha! Dream on, creepo." She walks out of the kitchen and to the hall.

"Where you going, squirt?" Kisame calls.

Atsuko stops for a moment and grins at them over her shoulder. "To talk to Pain." She faces forward and keeps

walking, leaving two jaws dropping to the floor behind her.

Hidan blinks. "She must really want to go shopping."

"Paaaain," Atsuko groans. She leans back on his office door. "PAAAAIN."

"For Jashin's sake, what is it?" he snaps on the other side, slamming his pen down on his desk.

She stands up straight and opens the now unlocked door, then walks in and puts her hands on his desk, leaning in

with determination in her eyes.

"Can me and Konan go shopping?" she asks sweetly with round puppydog eyes.

Pain glances up at her with an annoyed look in his eyes. "No, Atsuko."

"Come on! Why not?"

He doesn't look up from his writing. "Konan doesn't need to leave. She is perfectly fine here."

Atsuko pulls out a tape recorder and clicks a button without breaking her stare.

_"I would LIKE to go, but I CAN'T."_

She sets it in front of him, then stands straight and folds her arms. Pain looks at the recorder, then sighs and sets

his pencil down. He leans back in his chair, jaw shifting as he stares at Atsuko. Her gaze doesn't break once. She

stands there completely silent, but her eyes are practically screaming at him.

The leader sighs deeply, rubbing his temples in defeat. "How much money do you need?"

Atsuko's eyes go round as plates as she gasps in joy. She starts jumping up and down excitedly, then runs around

his desk and hugs him. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

He grunts at the force of her hug, then stands still until she eventually lets go. She gazes up at him with a smirk on

her lips. "About...all the money you have."

Pain stutters. "No! Absolutely not!"

Atsuko chuckles deviously. "You didn't think i was just gonna take Konan, did you? We're all going!"

Pain's eyes widen considerably. His mouth falls open in shock. "NO."

Atsuko only grins wider. "Oh yes, we are ALL going shopping."

Anger replaces his surprise. "No! It's just you and Konan, or no shopping at all!"

Atsuko only tilts her head to the side with her unfading smile, unfazed by his words.

Pain splutters. "Atsuko, the members don't need to go! This is only for you and Konan!"

"I'll let you come, too. Maybe you could get new rings for all your piercings." She wiggles her eyebrow at him

suggestively.

His eye twitches as he pauses. Atsuko's smile continues to broaden, and neither one moves.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

...


	4. The shopping disaster xD

**Hello everyone! Here is an extra long chapter for you all for being so kind as to read my story... I hope you enjoy :3**

"ALL RIGHT, WHO ATE THE LAST OF THE WAFFLES? HUH? WHO WAS IT?"

The Akatsuki sat boredly at the dinner table, all having midnight snacks before bed. Atsuko slams the freezer shut

and stomps over to them.

"HEY! ANSWER ME OR-"

Kisame shoves a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, and she squeaks while jumping back. After a pause, she

starts to swallow it. She takes the spoon out and licks her lips. "THAT WAS GOOD!"

"Here, shorty," Kisame offers, handing her a carton of vanilla ice cream. His eyes twinkle with amusement as she

snatches it and starts shoveling it into her mouth. She looks around and sees no seats available in the booth. She

spots the person on the end, then gulps her mouthful of ice cream. Then she plants her butt down on their lap,

making them yelp in surprise. Atsuko makes herself comfortable, and two arms slide around her waist to cuddle her.

"Atsuko-chan!" Tobi squeals in joy.

"Tobi, calm your fudge," Atsuko warns.

"Oh..."

"I still don't understand how you're related to that other Uzumaki brat," Sasori says, stirring a cup of water with his

straw.

Atsuko looks at him. "And i don't understand how your eyes are so beautiful."

He freezes, glaring for a moment before looking down at his cup in silence. Atsuko smiles at this and puts a couple

more spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth.

"Oh, so you like Sasori, do you?" Hidan asks smoothly, grinning suggestively.

Atsuko snorts, makes a face and swallows. "No. I'm just not afraid to give compliments to people. Unlike you boys."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Atsuko shoves her spoon into the carton. "Guys are naturally afraid to compliment people. So are girls, but i'm not

like most of them. I have a spine."

"I disagree with that!" Kisame breaks in.

"Guys can totally compliment people just as much as girls, yeah!" Deidara adds.

Atsuko fixes her gaze on him. "Really? Then would you mind saying something nice about me or anyone else here?"

His face goes from irritation to pale, And a light blush appears on his cheeks as he looks away.

Atsuko rolls her eyes. "Come on, people! Man up! Speak!"

"I think your eyes are really pretty," Kisame states matter-of-factly, with no shame or reluctance at all. He grins at

the others, as if to say 'i'm manlier than all of you'.

"All right, good," Atsuko praises, looking around for others. "Anybody else? Listen, you're gonna have to learn this if

you want girlfriends. They love being complimented."

"Your hair is awesome!" Hidan announces, a smirk planted on his face.

"Atsuko-chan is gorgeous!"

Atsuko nods sheepishly and digs into her ice cream some more.

"How come you don't react to compliments at all?" Hidan demands, leaning back as he studies her. "It's like you

don't mind."

Atsuko shrugs, her voice strangely quiet. "To be truthful, I've never really considered myself as pretty, accepting

compliments doesn't come naturally to me."

Hidan splutters in surprise. "Well you should accept them! Look at you! You've got looks!"

Atsuko blinks down at her ice cream, still not looking up.

Hidan pouts and leans back again, defeated.

She sits up straighter and smiles up at everyone. "Now it's my turn to compliment you guys!"

They all tense up, not used to this. No one had ever told them anything nice about themselves before. I mean why

would anyone? They are part of an organization that steals tailed beasts and kill people.

Atsuko looks at Kisame, and he locks her gaze with his own. "Kisame, I think your teeth and hair are awesome." He

blinks at her, then smiles a bit.

"Itachi, your eyes are really cool, even when your Sharingan isn't activated."

He only says one quiet 'hn'.

"Sasori, I LOVE your amazing eyes."

He chuckles but doesn't look at her, instead stirs his water some more.

"Hidan, your face is the nicest part of you."

He smirks, his pride inflating even more than usual.

"Tobi, I can't see any part of you, but your cuteness is in your attitude."

"Yay! Tobi loves Atsuko-chan!"

"And Deidara..." He looks up at her in surprise, his face immediately flushing again.

Atsuko smiles widely. "I think your face is adorable."

Some start snickering, and Deidara's face gets even redder. He glances up to try and meet Atsuko's eyes, then

blushes even more each time.

Atsuko keeps smiling, and he eventually meets her eyes. She winks at him, then faces everyone else. "So, is

everyone pleased now?"

Deidara's mouth hangs open. How was this girl able to do this to him? To make him blush and get flustered over one

compliment? And she didn't even think she was pretty herself?

He watches her as she laughs with the rest of them, then pouting when one embarrasses her. She then punches

their arm playfully.

His gaze softens. He was glad that he ran into her in the forest. Though he would never admit it.

"You're going to bed, Atsuko!"

"NEVAAA!"

Kisame effortlessly carries Atsuko over his shoulder, trying to get to her room. She flails around and wiggles, making

it a little harder to hold her still.

"Don't you want to have energy to go shopping tomorrow?" he growls, trying to hold her feet down.

"I have more energy than the energizer bunny, if you haven't noticed!" she replies, growling slightly.

"Leader told us to get some sleep!"

He finally makes it to her room and yanks the door open, then literally tosses her onto the bed. She scrambles up

and runs for the door, but Kisame closes it before she gets there. He clicks the lock shut, and she starts pounding

on it angrily.

"KISAME! LET ME OUT!"

"Good night, squirt," Kisame calls as he walks away with a smirk on his face, twirling the key on his finger.

Atsuko stops banging on the door after a minute, then goes to her bed and climbes into it. She flops down with her

face in the pillow.

She smiles softly before drifting off. "Tomorrow we go shopping..."

... A soft knock wakes Atsuko from her light sleep. She opens her eyes and groggily stumbles out of bed. She makes

it to the door, runs into it with a grunt. She shakes out her hair, steps back and pulls it open, then runs her fingers

through her messy hair as her eyes close. "What?"

"I...I wanted to talk to you, un."

Atsuko blinks her eyes open, and a shirtless Deidara stands in front of her. He looks like he hasn't been sleeping,

and he is fidgety.

She focuses more and tears her gaze away from his muscular chest, trying not to blush. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, i just couldn't sleep, un."

"And why not?"

He falls silent, his stare switching from the floor to Atsuko. "When we were having snacks at the table and everyone

was complimenting you...I wanted to say something, un."

Atsuko blinks tiredly. "Okay. What?"

He takes a deep breath, locking his eyes on hers. "You are pretty, whether you believe it or not. And thanks for

saying what you did about me."

She tilts her head to the side, confused at his compliment and the determination in his eyes. Then she decides to

smile and accept. "Heh. Thanks. But you woke me up at two in the morning to just say that?"

"It couldn't wait. I wouldn't be able to sleep if i hadn't told you, un."

"Well, now you can sleep. Go to bed."

Atsuko puts her hands on his chest to push him out, and he suddenly pulls her into a hug. She yelps in surprise,

then a content warmth spreads up from her tummy, and she hugs him back. After a moment, they pull apart. She

backs into her room and begins to shut the door.

"Good night, Deidara."

"Good night...Atsuko."

"...Atsuko. Atsuko!"

She groans and tries to roll away from the voice. It seemed like just a few minutes ago when Deidara had said her

name after he hugged her.

Something shakes her shoulder, and she growls in irritation. "Fudge muffins, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Do you want to go shopping today or not?"

Her eyes shoot open, and they lock on the person by her bed. In a flash, she yanks him onto the bed, then flips him

over so she's pinning him down. She grins down at him, and he smirks back.

"Well hello there goregeous," Hidan says, giving her a smirk.

Atsuko snorts and jumps off, running to the door. She leaps out and shuts it behind her quickly, then locks it. Not a

second later, Hidan bangs on the door and starts yelling threats, while Atsuko walks down the hallway happily.

She comes to a stop at Sasori's door, the first one closest. She knocks on the door. "Sasori! Wake up and show me

your amazing eyes!"

She hears an annoyed grunt and smiles. Then she skips off to the next door down the hall to repeat.

"Come on, Kisame! Show the world your awesomeness!"

"Itachi, if you don't come out, I'll go get all your fangirls to jump you!"

"TOBI-KUN! GET UP OR NO COOKIES FOR YOOOOUUUU!"

At hearing Tobi's distressed whine of NOOOO, Atsuko chuckles and comes to the last door. She slams her fist onto it

and yells at the top of her lungs.

"DEIDARA! TO MAKE THIS TRIP COMPLETE I NEED YOUR HOTNESS!"

After a couple stomps, the door opens and Deidara is there in the doorway. His hair is a mess, and he is shirtless.

His eyes are halfway closed.

"_What_ is your problem, un?" he asks tiredly, barely focusing.

Atsuko puts her arms in the air. "I wanna go shopping! Get ready right now!"

He pauses. "You're not serious, un."

Her face darkens with her intense stare and threatening tone, making Deidara lean back a bit. "**Right. Now**."

He sweatdrops, and Atsuko smiles sweetly with a giggle. Then she turns and runs back down the hall.

Deidara takes a deep breath and closes his eyes as he turns back to go into his room. "Okay..."

"I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO ATE ALL THE WAFFLES! SOMEONE BETTER FESS UP OR I'LL-"

"Fudge muffins~" Kisame taunts in a singsong voice, waving a plate of them in Atsuko's face. She smells them and

starts to follow the scent back to the table as Kisame carries them slowly. When he sets them down with a smirk,

Atsuko plants her butt down and stuffs them into her mouth.

Kisame laughs. "Even with all that power, you are easily controlled by food."

She ignores him, only making him laugh more. The rest of the sleep-deprived Akatsuki stumble to the livingroom, all

expcept a certain loudmouthed albino.

Kakuzu looks around and notices the absence first. He locks his gaze onto Atsuko, who keeps eating more and

more muffins. "Atsuko...?"

She stops with her mouth open, muffin still in her hand. She sets it down and gives him her full attention.

"Yes, Kakuzu?"

"Where is Hidan?"

"Yeah, i noticed how quiet it was in here, even with Atsuko," Kisame adds.

After giving Kisame a look, Atsuko looks down at her muffin and bites into it. "I locked him in my room."

The table falls silent, and several people drop whatever they were holding.

"You did WHAT?"

Atsuko grins at them and nods. "Yeah, I locked Hidan in my room."

She examines everyone's faces, from horror to amusement. When no one speaks, she sets a muffin down. "Come

on guys, it's not that bad..." After more silence, she continues. "...is it?"

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT!"

"Yep, it's pretty bad," Kisame mutters, taking a sip of milk.

Hidan storms into the room, rage clear on his face. Atsuko stands up in a flash, grabbing Deidara and tearing him

away from the open fridge. He yelps in surprise as she holds him out in front of her as a shield.

Atsuko squeaks when Hidan steps closer. "Look, I don't want any trouble."

"Oh, you're just asking for it, sweetheart," Hidan growls, even closer.

"All i'm asking for is to have a fun shopping day. Please don't ruin it."

He stops for a moment. "SHOPPING? I'm about to rape you until you die and you're worried about going

SHOPPING?"

Pause. "If i say yes, how mad will you be?"

Hidan runs forward and shoves Deidara aside like he weighed nothing, making Atsuko shriek in terror and look

around for another hiding place. When Hidan stomps closer, she screams and takes off to the livingroom.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!" Hidan yells as he runs after her.

Deidara painfully sits up from the floor, rubbing his head. "I hate mornings, yeah..."

"Okay, here are the rules. No stealing. No killing people. No disturbing the peace, HIDAN AND TOBI. No blowing

things up, DEIDARA."

"Hey, un!"

"And lastly...basically don't cause trouble. We clear?"

The Akatsuki hesitantly nod, not sure about this trip anymore.

"Oh, i forgot something. You can't go around in your cloaks, otherwise people will freak out and attack us. Everyone

take them off."

Some whine and protest, while Atsuko rolls her eyes. "Come on, it's not a big deal. Off, all of them."

The protests turn into low grumbles as they slowly pull their cloaks off and set them on the floor in front of them.

Atsuko watches them with a smile, then unzips her messenger bag and pulls out a few things.

"All right that's better...but we still have a few things to cover."

She goes to Deidara and hands him black gloves. He glares in irritation as he puts them on with a scowl. Atsuko just

keeps smiling, then reaches up to his left eye. He flinches away in surprise, but she uses her other hand to grab the

back of his neck and yank him back. Her hand goes under his bangs and pulls his eye scope off. He starts to protest,

but she quickly shoves it into her bag. "You'll get it back later, stop complaining."

His eyes narrow as he pouts, and Atsuko moves to the next person in the livingroom. Who happens to be Hidan. His

arms are folded across his bare chest.

Atsuko sighs. "If you're going out in public, you need to wear a shirt."

He snorts. "You can't make me."

She grins. "No, but Pain can."

His eyes widen as he glances fearfully at Pain, then at her. He scowls. "Oh, you are SO evil."

She only smirks as she hands him a shirt, which he regretfully puts on.

Atsuko walks over to Pain, who is fiddling with one of his ear piercings. He notices her and stops to face the small

girl. "What?"

"There's no chance of Tobi taking his mask off, is there?" she asks.

He shakes his head, and Atsuko sighs. Then she goes to the front of the livingroom to yell to everyone.

"ARE WE READY NOW?"

Some mumble variations of yes and sure, others-*Tobi*- shout right back.

"TOBI'S READY!"

"Let's get this over with, un."

"I hate mondays."

Atsuko grins broadly and turns to the door, her arm in the air. "Let's GO!"

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NO KILLING PEOPLE!"

"I didn't kill him, look. He's crawling away, un."

Atsuko smacks her forehead with a groan. Deidara folds his arms, confident that he would win this argument. Pain

walks over and looks at the damage, then at Atsuko.

"What happened?"

Atsuko lifts her hand and waves to Deidara without looking up. "Ask the artistic bomber over here."

Pain switches his gaze to the blonde. Deidara turns red and rubs the back of his neck. "Well, un..."

"Deidara," Pain says in a warning tone.

When he continues to stammer, Atsuko throws her arms in the air and growls.

"The guy was hitting on me, and Deidara got jealous."

The Inner Pain starts to burst out laughing, but on the outside Pain just shakes his head at the two and walks

away.

"I was not jealous, un!" Deidara snaps, turning a brighter shade of pink.

"You could've just told him to leave me alone, but NOOO, you had to put exploding clay IN HIS PANTS!"

"You put WHAT in his pants?" Hidan laughs as he walks over. Deidara growls and stalks off, while Atsuko stands

straight and folds her arms.

"It's a long story..."

Hidan grins. "Oh do tell."

She sighs and her eyes close. "Long story short, Deidara got jealous cuz a guy was trying to flirt with me."

"I WAS NOT JEALOUS, UN!" Deidara shouts from halfway across the mall.

"AND YOU'RE TOTALLY NOT BLUSHING, EITHER!" Atsuko returns, making people stare even more. She groans loudly

and turns to storm off as well, while Hidan starts laughing his butt off.

"Here you go." Konan hands Atsuko an ice cream cone, then licks her own. Atsuko takes the cone and puts her chin

in her hand. She slowly takes a few licks as Konan sits across from her at the small table outside of an ice cream

shop.

"Thanks," Atsuko grumbles.

"What's up with your fudge? This was your idea of fun and you're not having any," Konan states.

Atsuko sighs deeply and puts her chin on the table instead. "Deidara."

Konan leans back in her chair. "Boy problems already? What's the deal?"

"He won't admit he got jealous when a guy flirted with me."

"How jealous was he, exactly?"

"His exact words: 'Stop hitting on her or I'll blow your pants up.' And then guess what he did. Made the guy's pants

explode!"

Konan laughed. "He's really protective of you."

Atsuko sits up, a brow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

Konan chuckles. "He likes you, Atsuko."

Atsuko gives her a funny look, disbelief in her eyes. "No he doesn't."

"Honey, look at the evidence. He almost killed someone because they flirted with you. Is there anything else that

happened?"

Atsuko sits back with her arms folded, thinking. "Let's see...he blushed when i complimented him...then woke me up

in the middle of the night to talk."

"Ooh, about what?" Konan's eyes sparkled.

"He said something like 'You really are pretty, and it meant a lot when you complimented me.'"

Konan almost falls out of her chair, then grips the table and leans forward.

"Oh my GOSH!"

Atsuko's eyes go wide as she jumps, almost falling backwards as well from Konan's outburst. "Nyah, what?"

Konan gets up, goes around the table, then yanks Atsuko out of her seat and starts to drag her away.

"Wait, my ice cream!"

"ICE CREAM CAN WAIT, THIS IS LOVE!"

"Come on, just tell me."

"NO, UN."

"Bro to bro?"

"I DON'T LIKE YOU AT ALL, UN!"

"And i don't like you either. But this is just getting pathetic. You need some advice, man."

"ADVICE ABOUT WHAT, YEAH?"

"How to get girls. And keep your voice down, i'm right here."

Hidan sat at the table outside of a fast food place across from a fuming Deidara, who's face was a bright shade of

red.

"I don't need advice from a player, un," Deidara snaps, arms folded.

Hidan chuckles and grins. "I might be a player, but at least i know how to get a girl's attention."

"What are you talking about, un?"

"You trying to get Atsuko. You're seriously failing."

Deidara's face flushes again. "I am not-"

"You almost blew someone up for asking her out. You got jealous cuz someone else was interested in her. I've seen

this before."

Deidara huffs and leans back, trying to calm down. "Okay, i MIGHT like her, un."

Hidan smirks. "And you want to impress her, correct?"

"Well yeah, but she's so impossible, un."

Hidan chuckles. "Every girl can seem impossible at first. What's the problem?"

"I told her how i felt about her in the middle of the night, and she just treated it like it was no big deal."

Hidan bursts out laughing, and Deidara scowls as he looks to the side. Hidan slowly recovers his breath enough to

talk. "She's just naive, dude. Haven't you noticed how oblivious she gets?"

Deidara shifts his jaw, seeing the point as well. "Yes, but..."

"What?"

He sighs deeply. "There's something she's hiding. Like a dark secret, un."

Hidan opens his mouth, and someone approaches the table. It's their leader, with shiny new rings for his piercings.

He glances at them both.

"Nice jewelry," Hidan snorts, holding back laughter.

Pain glares at him, then looks to Deidara. "What's this about a dark secret?"

Deidara takes a deep breath. "I think Atsuko's hiding something that she won't tell anyone about, yeah."

The Rinnegan eyes shimmer with curiosity. "What makes you think this?"

"Before she woke up in the lab, she had a nightmare. She mumbled things about someone hurting her brother, then

controlling her. She woke up screaming, un."

Pain's eyes narrow, and he steps back from the table. He turns and walks away without another word.

"What do you think he's gonna do, un?" Deidara asks Hidan.

Hidan shrugs, sipping a drink from a straw. "Probably just gonna ask Atsuko about it. Now, where were we?"

Deidara groans as Hidan smirks widely.

"I'm not sure what you're-UGH!-trying to do here, Konan," Atsuko gasps. Konan tightens another ribbon on the

dress, making Atsuko squeak and lose her breath once more. After tying a knot, she stands back and admires her

work.

"We're trying to impress Deidara, silly," Konan explains as she watches Atsuko walk around and examine the dress.

"And you're really pretty anyway, so this will help."

Atsuko pauses and pouts. "I don't like dresses."

Konan rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on. Every girl likes dresses."

"That's not true...well not for me at least."

Atsuko goes back into the dressing room and begins to undo the dress.

Konan sighs and leans against the door, picking at her nails. "I think you should wear a dress, though. Deidara

might like it more."

Atsuko scoffs. "He likes me the way i am. I don't need to dress up all fancy like just so he can stare at me even

more." She tosses the dress, which ends up on Konan's head. She growls and stomps off to find a different outfit.

Atsuko sits on the chair by the mirror and glances at her reflection. Her hand goes up to touch her scar, then stops.

She returns her hand to her lap and waits for Konan to come back.

"What kind of dress WOULD you wear?" Konan asks from outside the door.

"Oh, just NONE OF THEM!" Atsuko yells.

"Please, for me?"

Atsuko folds her arms. "I'm not going to change myself to get some guy's attention."

"But he's not some guy, he really likes you."

"Whatever! I'm not wearing a stupid dress!"

Konan sighs, then walks away. As she puts the dresses back on the racks, she glances to the side and spots a

dress hanging on a wall. She rushes over to it, mouth open. This one is perfect!

"Excuse me, could you take this one down for me?" Konan asks the clerk with a smile.

"I really don't like you, un."

"Yes, we've established this already. But just trust me on this."

Deidara groans loudly. Hidan continues searching the jewelry and flowers in the store, mumbling to himself. "Which

one, which one...maybe this one...no..."

Deidara glances around quickly, and the girls in the store are staring at him. Some are surprised, others nodding

respectfully at his bravery. Some gave him googly eyes, which made him quickly turn around and try to hide his face.

"Can we please get out of here, un?" he hisses urgently to Hidan.

Hidan glances at him before returning to scanning. "Not yet. We have to find something for Atsuko."

"Please. Men don't belong in women's stores, un."

Hidan stands straight and looks around. When he finally notices the staring women, he places his hands on his hips.

"ANYBODY GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME AND MY BUDDY LOOKING FOR A GIFT FOR HIS GIRL?"

They all shake their heads quickly and look away to something else. Hidan smirks at Deidara, who is reddened.

Hidan puts his hands up. "See? Easy problem taken care of." He bends down once more to inspect the gifts.

"I really wish that you didn't have guts, un."

Pain spots Konan near the dressing room, and he walks over to her.

"Where's Atsuko?"

Konan jumps with wide eyes. Then she takes a deep breath. "Whoa, Pain, you scared me. Atsuko? Yeah, she's-"

The door busts open, knocking Konan into Pain. He catches her as she stumbles to get on her feet once more.

Atsuko stands in the doorway, arms in the air. She is wearing a short strapless dress with a fitted sparkly heart-

shaped corset on the top half, and ruffles at the bottom half. It is a dark blue color, matching her eyes.

"OH MY GOSH KONAN I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" she shouts all in one word, yanking Konan from Pain and hugging her.

Konan squeaks in surprise, then laughs as Atsuko pulls away to jump around.

"At least you like this one," Konan states as Atsuko twirls and bounces.

"It's amazing! I love the color and sparkles and ruffles and everything about it!" she continues.

Konan then remembers her leader and turns to him. "What is it that you want?"

"I need to speak with Atsuko about something," he replies, watching Atsuko with a surprised expression.

"About what?"

Pain gazes at Konan. "She apparently has a dark secret that no one knows about. I need the information."

Konan glances back at Atsuko. She is skipping around and laughing in glee. Konan looks down, then back at Pain.

"Okay, but can you wait a little bit? I'm trying to do something for her."

Pain watches her pleading eyes, then Atsuko. He sighs. "All right. Tell me when i may speak with her."

Konan smiles and hugs him. "Thanks."

His eyes widen in surprise, then go back to normal as she pulls away.

"LOOK AT ME I'M SPARKLY!" Atsuko yells in joy, running between them. She was recieving many weird looks from the

other shoppers, which she either didn't notice or didn't care. Konan laughs, while Pain shakes his head.

"DEEEEIDARAAAAA! DEIDARA, WHERE ARE YOU? DEIDARA!"

"Atsuko, quiet down! We'll find him soon!"

Atsuko continues to yell as she runs through the mall, leaving Konan trying to follow after her.

Atsuko suddenly stops in the middle of an intersection, looking around eagerly. "Where could he be?"

"Atsuko!" Konan snaps, catching up and placing her hand on Atsuko's shoulder while she pants.

Atsuko glances at her. "What?"

"You can't just go running off like that-"

Atsuko darts away from Konan and shoots off again, and Konan sighs.

"Troublesome girl..."

"Where is she, un?"

"Someone should really put a tracking device on her or SOMETHING. She's a mastermind at hiding."

"I've noticed, un."

Deidara walked quickly through the mall, with Hidan tagging along lazily behind him at a slower pace.

"We're gonna find her, chill out," Hidan sighs.

"I know, but i'm nervous, un."

"No need to be. I've planned everything. It's gonna be fine."

"I really hope that's true, un."


	5. Atsuko the Sparkly Uzumaki

**Moar chapters for my awesome readerz! Thank you so much for the reviews, i appreciate them a lot :3 it's nice to hear your input :3 Sooo get ready for the next chapter! Hope you enjoy :P**

"Here you go." Konan hands Atsuko an ice cream cone, then licks her own. Atsuko takes the cone and puts her chin

in her hand. She slowly takes a few licks as Konan sits across from her at the small table outside of an ice cream

shop.

"Thanks," Atsuko grumbles.

"What's up with your fudge? This was your idea of fun and you're not having any," Konan states.

Atsuko sighs deeply and puts her chin on the table instead. "Deidara."

Konan leans back in her chair. "Boy problems already? What's the deal?"

"He won't admit he got jealous when a guy flirted with me."

"How jealous was he, exactly?"

"His exact words: 'Stop hitting on her or I'll blow your pants up.' And then guess what he did. Made the guy's pants

explode!"

Konan laughed. "He's really protective of you."

Atsuko sits up, a brow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

Konan chuckles. "He likes you, Atsuko."

Atsuko gives her a funny look. "No he doesn't."

"Honey, look at the evidence. He almost killed someone because they flirted with you. Is there anything else that

happened?"

Atsuko sits back with her arms folded, thinking. "Let's see...he blushed when i complimented him...then woke me up

in the middle of the night to talk."

"Ooh, about what?" Konan's eyes sparkled.

"He said something like 'You really are pretty, and it meant a lot when you complimented me.'"

Konan almost falls out of her chair, then grips the table and leans forward.

"Oh my GOSH!"

Atsuko's eyes go wide as she jumps. "Ah, what?"

Konan gets up, goes around the table, then yanks Atsuko out of her seat and starts to drag her away.

"Wait, my ice cream!"

"ICE CREAM CAN WAIT, THIS IS LOVE!"

"Come on, just tell me."

"NO, UN."

"Bro to bro?"

"I DON'T LIKE YOU AT ALL, UN!"

"And i don't like you either. But this is just getting pathetic. You need some advice, man."

"ADVICE ABOUT WHAT, YEAH?"

"How to get girls. And keep your voice down, i'm right here."

Hidan sat at the table outside of a fast food place across from a fuming Deidara, who's face was a bright shade of

red.

"I don't need advice from a player, un," Deidara snaps, arms folded.

Hidan chuckles and grins. "I might be a player, but at least i know how to get a girl's attention."

"What are you talking about, un?"

"You trying to get Atsuko. You're seriously failing."

Deidara's face flushes again. "I am not-"

"You almost blew someone up for asking her out. You got jealous cuz someone else was interested in her. I've seen

this before."

Deidara huffs and leans back, trying to calm down. "Okay, i MIGHT like her, un."

Hidan smirks. "And you want to impress her, correct?"

"Well yeah, but she's so impossible, un."

Hidan chuckles. "Every girl can seem impossible at first. What's the problem?"

"I told her how i felt about her in the middle of the night, and she just treated it like it was no big deal."

Hidan bursts out laughing, and Deidara scowls as he looks to the side. Hidan slowly recovers his breath enough to

talk. "She's just naive, dude. Haven't you noticed how oblivious she gets?"

Deidara shifts his jaw, seeing the point as well. "Yes, but..."

"What?"

He sighs deeply. "There's something she's hiding. Like a dark secret, un."

Hidan opens his mouth, and someone approaches the table. It's their leader, with shiny new rings for his piercings.

He glances at them both.

"Nice jewelry," Hidan snorts, holding back laughter.

Pain glares at him, then looks to Deidara. "What's this about a dark secret?"

Deidara takes a deep breath. "I think Atsuko's hiding something that she won't tell anyone about, yeah."

The Rinnegan eyes shimmer with curiosity. "What makes you think this?"

"Before she woke up in the lab, she had a nightmare. She mumbled things about someone hurting her brother, then

controlling her. She woke up screaming, un."

Pain's eyes narrow, and he steps back from the table. He turns and walks away without another word.

"What do you think he's gonna do, un?" Deidara asks Hidan.

Hidan shrugs, sipping a drink from a straw. "Probably just gonna ask Atsuko about it. Now, where were we?"

Deidara groans as Hidan smirks widely.

"I'm not sure what you're-UGH!-trying to do here, Konan," Atsuko gasps. Konan tightens another ribbon on the

dress, making Atsuko squeak and lose her breath once more. After tying a knot, she stands back and admires her

work.

"We're trying to impress Deidara, silly," Konan explains as she watches Atsuko walk around and examine the dress.

"And you're really pretty anyway, so this will help."

Atsuko pauses and pouts. "I don't like dresses."

Konan rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on. Every girl likes dresses."

"That's not true...well not for me at least."

Atsuko goes back into the dressing room and begins to undo the dress.

Konan sighs and leans against the door, picking at her nails. "I think you should wear a dress, though. Deidara

might like it more."

Atsuko scoffs. "He likes me the way i am. I don't need to dress up all fancy like just so he can stare at me even

more." She tosses the dress, which ends up on Konan's head. She growls and stomps off to find a different outfit.

Atsuko sits on the chair by the mirror and glances at her reflection. Her hand goes up to touch her scar, then stops.

She returns her hand to her lap and waits for Konan to come back.

"What kind of dress WOULD you wear?" Konan asks from outside the door.

"Oh, just NONE OF THEM!" Atsuko yells.

"Please, for me?"

Atsuko folds her arms. "I'm not going to change myself to get some guy's attention."

"But he's not some guy, he really likes you."

"Whatever! I'm not wearing a stupid dress!"

Konan sighs, then walks away. As she puts the dresses back on the racks, she glances to the side and spots a

dress hanging on a wall. She rushes over to it, mouth open. _This one is perfect!_

"Excuse me, could you take this one down for me?" Konan asks the clerk with a smile.

"I really don't like you, un."

"Yes, we've established this already. But just trust me on this."

Deidara groans loudly. Hidan continues searching the jewelry and flowers in the store, mumbling to himself. "Which

one, which one...maybe this one...no..."

Deidara glances around quickly, and the girls in the store are staring at him. Some are surprised, others nodding

respectfully at his bravery. Some gave him googly eyes, which made him quickly turn around and try to hide his face.

"Can we please get out of here, un?" he hisses urgently to Hidan.

Hidan glances at him before returning to scanning. "Not yet. We have to find something for Atsuko."

"Please. Men don't belong in women's stores, un."

Hidan stands straight and looks around. When he finally notices the staring women, he places his hands on his hips.

"ANYBODY GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME AND MY BUDDY LOOKING FOR A GIFT FOR HIS GIRL?"

They all shake their heads quickly and look away to something else. Hidan smirks at Deidara, who is reddened.

Hidan puts his hands up. "See? Easy problem taken care of." He bends down once more to inspect the gifts.

"I really wish that you didn't have guts, un."

Pain spots Konan near the dressing room, and he walks over to her.

"Where's Atsuko?"

Konan jumps with wide eyes. Then she takes a deep breath. "Whoa, Pain, you scared me. Atsuko? Yeah, she's-"

The door busts open, knocking Konan into Pain. He catches her as she stumbles to get on her feet once more.

Atsuko stands in the doorway, arms in the air. She is wearing a short strapless dress with a fitted sparkly heart-

shaped corset on the top half, and ruffles at the bottom half. It is a dark blue color, matching her eyes.

"OH MY GOSH KONAN I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" she shouts all in one word, yanking Konan from Pain and hugging her.

Konan squeaks in surprise, then laughs as Atsuko pulls away to jump around.

"At least you like this one," Konan states as Atsuko twirls and bounces.

"It's amazing! I love the color and sparkles and ruffles and everything about it!" she continues.

Konan then remembers her leader and turns to him. "What is it that you want?"

"I need to speak with Atsuko about something," he replies, watching Atsuko with a surprised expression.

"About what?"

Pain gazes at Konan. "She apparently has a dark secret that no one knows about. I need the information."

Konan glances back at Atsuko. She is skipping around and laughing in glee. Konan looks down, then back at Pain.

"Okay, but can you wait a little bit? I'm trying to do something for her."

Pain watches her pleading eyes, then Atsuko. He sighs. "All right. Tell me when i may speak with her."

Konan smiles and hugs him. "Thanks."

His eyes widen in surprise, then go back to normal as she pulls away.

"LOOK AT ME I'M SPARKLY!" Atsuko yells in joy, running between them. Konan laughs, while Pain shakes his head.

"DEEEEIDARAAAAA! DEIDARA, WHERE ARE YOU? DEIDARA!"

"Atsuko, quiet down! We'll find him soon!"

Atsuko continues to yell as she runs through the mall, leaving Konan trying to follow after her.

Atsuko suddenly stops in the middle of an intersection, looking around eagerly. "Where could he be?"

"Atsuko!" Konan snaps, catching up and placing her hand on Atsuko's shoulder while she pants.

Atsuko glances at her. "What?"

"You can't just go running off like that-"

Atsuko darts away from Konan and shoots off again, and Konan sighs.

"Troublesome girl..."

"Where is she, un?"

"Someone should really put a tracking device on her or SOMETHING. She's a mastermind at hiding."

"I've noticed, un."

Deidara walked quickly through the mall, with Hidan tagging along lazily behind him at a slower pace.

"We're gonna find her, chill out," Hidan sighs.

"I know, but i'm nervous, un."

"No need to be. I've planned everything. It's gonna be fine."

"I really hope that's true, un."

"OUTTA MY WAY, YOU SNAILS!" Atsuko shouts, shoving people who have formed a line that stretched across the

aisle. They yelp and protest, but she keeps pushing her way through.

Konan lost her a while back.

"I'M IN A HURRY! MOVE!" she snaps, failing to get through the mob. She looks around frantically for an exit, but the

gap had closed around her.

Her eyes land on someone on her side. She steps closer, eyes narrowing in focus. His blonde hair was spiky, and he

had an orange jumpsuit on.

He moved forward in his line, and Atsuko silently followed behind him.

_Is it really him?_

He lifts his head and looks around, revealing bright blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks.

Atsuko's breath is caught in her throat. _It is him. Naruto._

She regains her breath and lifts her hand as she gets closer to him. Her hand is almost touching the back of his

orange outfit, right where the swirl symbol is.

Her hand stops. She puts it down, her heart almost breaking. _No. It's not the right time. _

Just as she was about to back away, he suddenly turns around and their eyes meet. Atsuko freezes in shock,

worried that the flash in his eyes was recognition.

He smiles brightly at her, and if she wasn't already unable to breathe she would've stopped breathing.

"Hi. What's your name?" he asks.

Atsuko mentally sighs in relief, her fear dissipating as she offers a small smile back, feeling happy about the

obliviousness in his eyes.

"Hey Naruto! What do you want to eat?" a voice calls, jerking Naruto's attention away from me and to a pink-haired

girl standing in another line next to us. He starts to tell her what he wants as i gaze at him.

_After all these years i finally get to meet you...i hope you've been happy, Nii-chan..._

Atsuko considers telling him her name, then dark realization suddenly slams into her, suffocating her airways. She

can't allow him to know who she is, it would put him in danger since she is part of the Akatsuki now.

With sadness in her eyes, she backs away slowly. _Later, Naruto. I'll come to you, i promise. Once i get stronger._

She whirls and bolts out of the crowd, ignoring the annoyed yells and shoves after her. She keeps racing through

the mall aisle, not slowing down. She hopes that he hasn't followed her.

Something grabs her from behind and pulls her into an embrace, making her squeak in surprise.

"Finally found you, un!"

Atsuko turns around in relief and starts laughing. "Deidara! Finally!"

His eyes are shining. "I've been looking for you all day, un."

She smiles. "I've been looking for you, too." She looks past him at the mass of people and spots someone with

blonde spiky hair coming out towards them.

She grabs Deidara's hand quickly. "Hey, uh, let's go somewhere else."

He looks at her funny, then nods. "Uh, okay, un."

She turns and pulls him away from the area, not looking back. She soon breaks into a run.

"Atsuko, un," Deidara gasps.

She slows to a stop, glancing around quickly before looking directly at him.

"Yes?"

"What's going on, un?" Concern is laced within his blue eyes.

Atsuko smiles innocently. "Nothing, why?"

"Well, you just-"

"ATSUKO!" Konan snarls, stomping over to them. She looms over Atsuko, fuming. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Atsuko laughs nervously. "Well, you see..."

"Deidara, you're such an idiot," Hidan snaps as he walks up to Deidara, a few boxes in his hands. He shoves them

into Deidara's arms. "I believe you forgot these, Captain Blondie." With that, he stomps away grumbling.

Konan throws her hands into the air. "Forget it! You're both hopeless!"

She turns and walks in Hidan's direction, muttering loudly about morons.

Atsuko and Deidara slowly look at each other, eyes wide. Atsuko speaks first. "Uh, what just happened?"

"I'm...not quite sure, un," Deidara replies. "Oh, i got you some things, un."

He hands her the jewelry boxes, and she sits down on the bench beside them. Deidara goes next to her and

watches as she unwraps all the gifts.

She picks up a necklace and holds it in the air, gazing at it with sparkling eyes. It was a simple chain, but the

pendant was a dark sparkling blue gem. "Oh, wow! It's beautiful!"

She goes through the other presents, putting the jewelry on as she goes. By the time she's done, both her wrists

have bracelets, and she wears two necklaces. She also has a flower barette in her hair. It is light blue.

Atsuko picks up the last box and takes the top off, then sets it beside her. She picks up the object and lifts it up.

"It's a ninja headband, un," Deidara explains. "I thought you should have it, since you're in Akatsuki now. It's

slashed out, to show that you don't belong there anymore, un."

Atsuko's breathing increases as her gaze is locked on the headband.

_"Atsuko? Atsuko honey, what's going on?" Ayame asks, bursting into the room. Atsuko doesn't move her gaze from the _

_other side of the room. The maid follows her stare and shrieks in horror, her hands flying up to her mouth. She turns _

_quickly and runs out of the room, still screaming._

_Atsuko's foster parents lay dead on the ground in front of her, a pool of blood around them. They are collapsed over each _

_other. _

_"Atsuko, how did this happen?" Ruchimaru demands, standing in the doorway._

_Atsuko doesn't look away. "I...I killed them..."_

_I'm so sorry...i didn't mean to..._

_**I did. **_

_Atsuko holds her head in her hands, trying to block out the evil voice from filling her mind. __Go away!_

_Her tear filled eyes land on her parents once more, and the wetness finally spills over._

_Blood covers their bodies, leaking down onto the floor. Their headbands have streaks of thick red staining the metal._

_Staining them forever..._

Atsuko drops the headband, gasping. She abruptly stands and takes off sprinting.

Deidara gets up and watches her go. "Atsuko, un! Wait!"


End file.
